How the world was set ablaze (and other stuff you missed)

Chris Brandrick |
March 28, 2013

The world's Internet is running a little slow today, so to save you from hunting for the latest news, your mid-week GeekBytes is here to bring you some stuff you may have missed. In this installment, take a look at a concept poster for Star Wars: Episode VII, a neat little gadget that could breathe new life into your old speakers, and how the world was set on fire (don't panic).

The world's Internet is running a little slow today, so to save you from hunting for the latest news, your mid-week GeekBytes is here to bring you some stuff you may have missed. In this installment, take a look at a concept poster for Star Wars: Episode VII, a neat little gadget that could breathe new life into your old speakers, and how the world was set on fire (don't panic).

Global 'pulse' set the world on fire [Journal of Geophysical Research]

A recent paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research explores evidence that suggests that the entire globe was set ablaze as a result of the space rock that killed off the dinosaurs. The heat-fire hypothesis the paper puts forward suggests that energy from the impact was so intense that an "infrared pulse" set the world on fire, literally. Global forest fires wiped out all sorts of vegetation and all "non-aquatic vertebrate life" in a giant worldwide barbecue. [via Ars Technica]

$50 gadget brings old speakers into the 21st century [Kickstarter]

The Vamp is a little device that its creator says can transform your old, unused speakers into useful Bluetooth-enabled boomboxes. You can attach it to most common speakers by way of included cables, giving old hardware a new lease of life. Your revived speaker will then be able to play audio from any bluetooth connected device such as your tablet, smartphone or laptop. You can make a pledge on Kickstarter starting around $50.

Following news that Han, Luke, and Leia will be returning in the upcoming J.J Abrams-directed Star Wars: Episode VII, New York-based illustrator Adam Schickling got to work on creating a concept poster for the movie. Created over the course of four weeks, his final poster, which pays homage to the style of Drew Struzan's posters, features characters from the original trilogy looking not quite as fresh-faced as you may remember them.